The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site - RRA stops building 1911's?

gottripletsNC

18th September 2008, 21:34

Well, I'm not sure whats going on with RRA as a whole, but I ordered AR parts from them in February of 2008, never did recieve the lower, and got the wrong upper a couple months ago. A buddy of mine who ordered at the same time hasn't received his yet, and the dealer we went through ordered 6 lowers and he hasn't recieved his yet either.

johngalt

18th September 2008, 22:01

I ordered a NM Hardball in February 2008, got it in August (6 months, as expected), and it is exactly what I ordered. I've heard complaints about their service in the past, but it looked like they solved that problem.

They make an excellent product, I hope they aren't quitting for good.

Bladeandbarrel

18th September 2008, 23:04

They are 10 months behind on AR-15 orders. Thats my guess why they are discontinuing 1911's..

gottripletsNC

19th September 2008, 08:20

They are 10 months behind on AR-15 orders. Thats my guess why they are discontinuing 1911's..

Closer to 20 months I'd say, knowing the headache I've gone through with mine.

Jim 1855

24th September 2008, 16:58

I spoke to Yolanda today about my latest gun (officers frame / commander slide) that I ordered earlier this year. Cancelled, at this time they have suspended efforts to produce the officers frame. So I'll get a refund on the deposit.

The gun was based on their new CCO - Concealed Carry Officers introduced at SHOT 2008. This product will not be produced at this time.

It sounds like they are really busy but will complete the other guns currently on order.

Jim

Rinspeed

4th October 2008, 17:41

I heard they are switching suppliers for frames and slides and that's why they aren't taking orders right now. I hope it's true.

ButchKent

17th October 2008, 20:56

Hope this is just a supplier issue. RRA makes the best 1911 on the market. The quality of their guns is outstanding. I have both 1911 and AR - both are best I've seen. Their 1911s seam a little expensive but when you consider the cost of a comperable from one of the better custom makers, they are a great buy. My Limited Match shoots like a laser. I was just about to go for a Commander size 1911 too. Hope they are back in production soon.

GDubya

21st October 2008, 14:39

Per a RRA source, they had ~200 frames left as of last week. When they're gone, RRA 1911s are suspended.

ALL resources for the forseeable future go toward filling their contracted AR orders.

RickB

21st October 2008, 15:36

Does anyone know with whom they are "contracted" to build ARs?

garrettwc

21st October 2008, 15:52

Does anyone know with whom they are "contracted" to build ARs?
They are the primary supplier for the DEA and associated agencies.

GDubya

21st October 2008, 16:38

They are the primary supplier for the DEA and associated agencies.

And they've continued to advance into local and state LE supply based on their higher quality rep.

HAIL CAESAR

22nd October 2008, 14:16

And they've continued to advance into local and state LE supply based on their higher quality rep.

Decent quality and cheaper than Colt.

daveohno

29th October 2008, 22:43

Decent quality and cheaper than Colt.
But it's not a Colt.

On their 1911's, I'm not happy with their decision to stop making them, I've always heard that they are some of the finest out there, for someone that demands a very accurate handgun. We can all hope that they get back into the 1911 business once they clear their AR backlog.

StuFish

14th November 2008, 22:03

I talked to my local gun dealer yesterday and he had just called Rock River to ask them when they would resume production; he said they told him they are done building 1911 pistols... forever. He was going to order a Pro Carry and now has decided he will get an Ed Brown instead. My deposit check for a Pro Carry was accepted in August and I hope it is still built. I'm planning on a long wait but will post pics if I'm fortunate to receive the pistol.

Spyros

15th November 2008, 02:27

That really is a shame, if it turns out to be the case. RRA seemed to make very functional, no-nonsense, reliable and good-looking pistols. They were one of the few 1911 makers who still did some nice blueing jobs.

Well, since the reason they stopped is AR demand and not something more disturbing (like going out of business), we can hope that they bring 1911 production back sometime in the future.

daveohno

15th November 2008, 21:48

I hope they can sell enough AR's to Law Enforcement to sustain their business.

cedjunior

15th November 2008, 22:27

I just hope they don't go all H&K on us ("who cares about civies, we have government contracts")

daveohno

16th November 2008, 00:01

They will do that out of necessity. It's an "assault" rifle. Private sales of these may not be permissable much longer.

Z51

17th November 2008, 21:32

The most surprising thing for me is that I saw them at the NRA show this year.

They had 12 or 13 1911's with them at the show and seemed to be pushing them pretty hard.

They were proud that they had made 1911's before they started building AR's.

I made up my mind to buy one then and after a recent magazine article asked my dealer to price one.

But I was too late!!!!!!

JTQ

20th December 2008, 08:10

I find it interesting they are still running their 1911 ads in the gun magazines. No doubt they were contracted a while back, but it seems like a waste of money and only adds to the inquiries/workload to the sales/customer service desk.

Spyros

20th December 2008, 10:13

I've always wondered how far back these magazines book their ads and articles. One of the big pluses of this forum is it's up-to-dateness! Let's see how long the printed mags will need to print a picture of the GI Para... or test it. Or, for that matter, say anything on RRA.

garrettwc

21st December 2008, 11:04

I've always wondered how far back these magazines book their ads and articles. One of the big pluses of this forum is it's up-to-dateness!
It can be as much as six months or more IIRC. That's the miracle of the net. You can change things in minutes.

Spyros

22nd December 2008, 05:25

SIX months??? Why does it have to be that long???

garrettwc

22nd December 2008, 09:45

SIX months??? Why does it have to be that long???
There is that much involved in getting a traditional magazine to print.

Let's say that I am publishing a magazine about hunting. In order for the articles to be timely and interesting, I need to plan for the magazine to come out near the beginning of the hunting season.

I need to arrange with the manufacturers to get samples of their gear for any product tests. I need to give my writers and photographers time to put the story together. I need to give my editors and salespeople time to get the content ready. I need to give the layout and art people time to get it to look like something. All of that is needed before you are even close to being ready to print.

Most publishers don't own their own presses. They contract out with third party printers. There are literally thousands of print magazines out there, but only a few hundred printers with the capability to do a quality four color print magazine. So you have to allow time to get in line along with all the other publishers for your turn on the presses. Then there is the shipping time to actually truck the product to the newstands both in the US and abroad.

Even with modern technology, when you think about it, six months to do all that is pretty impressive. I'd say that even our e-zine articles run upwards of 60-90 days from concept to posting on the site.

wjkuleck

22nd December 2008, 14:19

In my experience, 90 days is a typical lead time from submission of editorial or ad copy to the date of release. IIRC The American Rifleman has a sixty-day lead time from final review of copy to the appearance of the issue. Part of the delay is simply laying out the magazine! It's something of a jigsaw puzzle, as I know from first hand having been the "Layout Editor" on my college humor magazine.

I was asked to make a correction on an article about to be published in Special Weapons for Military and Police about a week ago, just before it went to press. We'll see when the magazine is actually on the newsstands; that will give a sort of minimum "drop-dead" interval. Of course, the rifle we submitted for review went out some months ago, and the author of the piece had his submission in perhaps two months ago. The ad deadline for copy submission for that issue was 2 December, IIRC. I believe the newsstand date will be February 2009.

Regards,

Walt

Spyros

23rd December 2008, 05:30

I can more than understand the lead-time being that long for the vast majority of the material in any given issue of a monthly magazine. However, I was under the impression that Editorial pieces, or the (literal or not) STOP PRESS mini-articles about an up-and coming model, or a manufacturer ceasing production of another model etc, were much more "fresh". I'm talking strictly about half-column size stuff.

A Greek aviation magazine I read regularly works along similar lines. They frequently announce that they're working on an article that eventually appears 3-4 months down the line, but the lead time for their editorials is around 2 weeks before the mag is on the racks, and they've been able to stretch that a bit when they're expecting something.

Of course, a mag like this, in a small country of 10 million people, has nothing like the circulation or distribution hurdles of even a modest American publication that has to be printed and distributed to 50 States and world-wide, but I thought that the printers, presses and distributors in Greece are not really on the same league, capacity-wise, as those in the US either!

jhall

24th December 2008, 10:43

I like my RRA LAR-15 NM, but the service side has been a total no-show. I've called them, whith a promise of a return call, never happened, I've e-mailed service dept on a couple of issues with the rifle, no response for months now. I actually now don't expect any response from them at all. Bummer.

Two warranty issues, numerous calls, emails, absolutely no response.

Failing grade for service.

Jeff

Bladeandbarrel

24th December 2008, 11:20

The only reason I never bought a RR 1911 was that my experience of buying 2 LAR-15's a few years back was absoultely abominable. Good product. CRUMMY service.
When I approached them at the SHOT show about their lame front office staff I got a thousand yard stare. Duh.

1911Art

7th February 2009, 20:15

RR found they could sell a lot of black rifles so they quit the 1911 business.

Why should they concern themselves with customer service? They make their money selling the product, not pleasing the customer. This will work well in the short run or mid term run. There's no shortage of buyers of black rifles. When and if that demand slows down they can then pretend they care about the customer.
Most of you will forgive and forget and those that don't will be replaced by those who have just discovered RR and their "great" products.

Didn't the US automakers do the same thing for how many decades?

StuFish

7th February 2009, 20:44

I have had nothing but great customer service from Rock River. I have an Entry Tactical rifle and an Elite Comp rifle. I have a Pro Carry .45 ordered. I have had several questions about the build of my 45 and every time I contact RRA I have had great customer service.

As far as RRA being greedy, does anyone have all of the information to make that claim on this website? Are you aware of the actual company margains, balance sheets, the goal of the company, etc? The easiest thing in the world to do is criticize a company for their actions.

Perhaps the overwhelming majority of their customers have stated their desire for rifles by their actual orders backed by hard cash. If it was my company and rifle orders were 200:1 compared to pistols, you would have no basis for calling me greedy by appeasing the desires of my customers.

I never got a job from a poor person. I think RRA deserves a little more respect and capitalism is how our country works.

Stu

Jim 1855

8th February 2009, 08:11

As a RRA customer that couldn't get an ordered gun due to RRA's business change I was disappointed that they decided to discontinue their fine 1911s. I did buy a Baer Stinger to replace the RRA gun.

At the same time, as a business owner myself, I understand shifting their focus to the highest demand items and satisfying that market.

I also believe that there were internal issues that led to the decisions and can only hope that they produce 1911s again in the future.

As for service, I have always been treated fairly by the RRA staff but perhaps not as promptly as I always wanted.

Jim

daveohno

13th February 2009, 06:39

This emphasis on AR 15's will end soon enough. Then they'll have to get back to making something regular folks can buy.

cajunboy

14th February 2009, 06:59

I have 4 RRA rifles and one 1911 and have been treated very well by their customer service. I ordered a 10.5in chrome moly .223 upper in February 08 from a dealer. After 13 weeks, I called with my order number. They were not making that barrel for another 6 months. The nice lady on the phone asked if I would give her a day or so to see what she could do. At 8AM the next day I had a message to call her. When I got back with her, she offered to upgrade my upper to a chrome lined barrel, which was in stock, at no additional charge. I had the upper in hand the next week.

I planned on purchasing another RRA 1911, until I got the bad news.

Rob A.

10th March 2009, 12:45

Last weekend the local gun shop held a factory shoot. The two RRA reps said they will resume 1911 production once the AR15 orders slow. We've heard this before but these guys sounded matter-of-fact to me, like it was a foregone conclusion. Anyway, I figure if we keep hounding them it may make an impact. (In the time I was there nobody demo'ed the AR15s they had).

cajunboy

10th March 2009, 12:58

motorcopm4

10th March 2009, 14:30

I patiently await

Spyros

11th March 2009, 14:47

Their website still says they don't accept 1911 orders. It now says they are having to try hard in order to keep up with their AR orders, too

HardBoiled

12th March 2009, 10:15

I think this actually says quite a bit for RRAs dedication to making quality 1911s. It's obvious that parts in general are not hard to come by and I'm sure finding people to slap guns together wouldn't be hard to find either. However, RRA is refusing to put out garbage guns that were slapped together just to fill orders. They are taking the higher road and limiting sales to what they can produce while maintaining the higher level of quality those of us who have RRA 1911s have become accustom to, while also not increasing the price for these to limit sales.

Willis68

3rd April 2009, 21:25

I wish I would have bought one when I had the opportunity. I passed up on a sweet deal on a Pro Carry from Alan Yoast a few years ago. Hindsight is 20/20 :butthead:

Spyros

17th September 2009, 07:04

If anyone is counting, today marks a year since they stopped accepting 1911 orders.

Rob A.

17th September 2009, 17:22

If you hunt around you can still find NIB RRA 1911s popping up at local gun shops. Mine just got in a stainless Basic Limited Match. The price is correspondingly steep at $2499.99.

ExDetSgt

2nd October 2009, 22:20

Just bought a parkerized NIB RIA 1911A1 yesterday from a gun shop in Douglas, AZ. I believe he had three more.

ftw13

4th October 2009, 17:50

i think they just figured out they make more money slapping ARs together than putting out quality 1911s

Hawkmoon

4th October 2009, 19:44

Just bought a parkerized NIB RIA 1911A1 yesterday from a gun shop in Douglas, AZ. I believe he had three more.
RIA is Rock Island Armory. This thread (and this discussion area) is about Rock River Arms.

Different companies entirely.

ExDetSgt

4th October 2009, 20:47

Oops. My bad.

1911Art

14th October 2009, 20:42

i think they just figured out they make more money slapping ARs together than putting out quality 1911s

The market is over saturated with Rock River AR everything - complete guns, uppers, lowers, parts, barrels.....

It's pure market capitalism - making money is first.

I long for the old days - it's a real pleasure when you find customer service these days. Too bad, I just bought a like new 5 year old Rock River bullseye wadcutter - great gun - real craftsmanship -

I found out several years ago if I was going to mess with 1911's I would have to become a gunsmith and I did. I've built a couple of guns and tuned several others.

If you want customer service, get a Smith and Wesson or if you want a gun to run without the drama get a Glock. If you have to feed a 1911 addiction get learnin' how to fix them yourself. There's still some pistolsmiths that will do a good job in your lifetime - several even post on this forum.

govtmodel

16th October 2009, 09:05

i think they just figured out they make more money slapping ARs together than putting out quality 1911s

Not at all. Their frame supplier upped his price to a level they could no longer absorb, and passing it on would make them uncompetitive, so they simply stopped that product line.

Rob A.

16th October 2009, 11:53

Richard, this is the first I've head this. Can you direct me to your source? I am considering selling my Limited Match and would like all pertinent information.

govtmodel

16th October 2009, 13:13

Richard, this is the first I've head this. Can you direct me to your source? I am considering selling my Limited Match and would like all pertinent information.

It was discussed here briefly, on the Bullseye-L list, and on the other 1911 forum ( http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=238903 ). The post from "CAPT Ken" is reliable, he's an acquaintance of mine from my Navy shooting days. USN shooters were quite bummed as RR had a substantial USN discount.

It's old news now, though.

Rob A.

17th October 2009, 14:14

Richard, much abliged for you link to the 1911forum.com and your friend Capt. Ken's assessment of the RRA 1911 situation. It's great to get the truthful story behind their stopping 1911 production--as Ken had spoken directly to the source, Chuck Larson--instead of the baseless, uninformed and wild speculation infecting the discussion. To my eye and hand, I find their 1911's craftsmanship to be aesthetically pleasing true works of art of function and form. Thanks again for your insight.